Kirk Langstrom was a dedicated geneticist interested in extracting and isolating traits from one species and transferring them to another; however, he was so obsessed with his work he started to lose his wife and became a mockery of the field. He was hoping to use the enhanced hearing of bats to overcome his deafness. When he made a breakthrough he requested more funding but was denied. This struck him with overwhelming grief that made him lash out at his fiancée, Francine, and climaxed in him testing the experimental serum on himself. The serum succeeded and returned his hearing to him. He quickly makes amends with Francine, but Kirk's hearing has become superhuman and then it happens, he starts mutating into a man/bat hybrid. His mind is overcome by instincts and he is plagued by frequent blackouts. Kirk's transformation completes when he tries to commit suicide, and being complete for the first time, he flies away saving himself from death.

Character Creation
Man-Bat was created by Frank Robbins, Neal Adams, and Dick Giordano.

Character Evolution
Man-Bat crosses paths with Batman, but they do not get a chance to interact at first. Later Man-Bat finds himself returning to the same place as many of the other bats, the Batcave. Alfred discovers him when he is attacked, luckily Batman was just coming home and managed to subdue the creature and bound it down. After examination, Batman discovers that this Man-Bat is in fact Kirk Langstrom. Batman returns Kirk to Francine and she reveals that, using Kirk's notes, she has formulated a possible cure. When Kirk awakens he escapes but Francine manages to inject the cure and Kirk reverts.

Over the course of time Kirk became more bat and less man, he became an animal only going by instinct. Eventually he returned to Gotham because of a mysterious need to see Francine. When he arrived there were murders being executed by a "Flying Man". When he managed to finally see Francine she denied him and his spirit was crushed. His last link to the human world was gone and now he was wanted for the "Flying Man Murders". Two vigilante cops managed to clip him when he was flying and he was knocked out. Killer Croc found him and brought him to the sewers and nursed him back to health. When he emerged he decided he needed to see Francine again even if she couldn't stand him. When he got there the real flying man was trying to kill Francine. It was revealed that Kirk and Francine were members of the "Secret Genetics Brotherhood". They were hoping to use Kirk and Francine's studies in genetic manipulation to make a human being without consciousness. They were horrified at the idea and left the brotherhood, but it turned out they stole their research and used it to make the monster that became the flying man. Kirk managed to defeat the beast and left Gotham once again. Francine discovered the son she had who almost died managed to survive but as the same kind of beast as Kirk.

Major Story Arcs
Batman & Son
During the Batman & Son story arc, Talia Al Ghul's army of ninjas use Dr. Langstrom's Man-Bat serum to transform themselves into deadly man-bat ninjas. Talia herself manages to get the formula from Kirk by capturing Francine and threatening her life. After running into Alfred, Langstrom begins working with the military to formulate enough vaccine to deal with Talia's Man-Bat army.

Gotham Underground, Salvation Run and Final Crisis
Man-Bat was captured by the Suicide Squad following being knocked out by Bane,he is then sent off the planet alongside the majority of the Earth's villains.Once on the alien world Man-Bat works alongside Joker and his faction of villains participating in a raid against Lex Luthor and his allies. Man-Bat later participates in the battle against a large army of Parademons, and manages to escape back to Earth along with the majority of the villains. During Final Crisis Man-Bat like most of the world's population is turned into a Justifier, and participates in the attack on the castle stronghold of Checkmate.

Battle for the Cowl
During a Battle for the Cowl one-shot, Man-Bat #1, Kirk Langstrom's wife is kidnapped by Dr. Phosphorus. Dr. Phosphorus knocks Dr. Langstrom unconscious and ties him up, using his wife's capture to incite rage, and to save his wife Langstrom transforms into the Man-Bat without using his serum, marking some sort of physiological change in Kirk. Man-Bat is a reserve member of the Birds of Prey along with Ragman.

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